Platte County already locked up at least a share of a fifth consecutive Suburban Conference Blue Division title with a lopsided win against rival Kearney last week.
The two teams met three times last year and split the league crown, but Platte County took control of this year’s race with an 8-1 win against the Bulldogs on Tuesday, Sept. 6 in Kearney, Mo. The Pirates won two of three doubles matches to key the victory, an advantage they didn’t have in any of last year’s matchups.
Hannah Valentine (No. 2) scored a 10-0 shutout in singles, and senior Madalyn Ivy’s 10-1 win at No. 4 put Platte County one win away from the victory. The Pirates ended up taking the singles sweep with Stephanie Laures (No. 3) and Lauren Laderoute (No. 5) 10-4 winners and Rachel Valentine (No. 1) and Mikayla Landers (No. 6) 10-7 victors.
No. 2 doubles team Hannah Valentine and Ivy and No. 3 doubles team Laderoute and Landers were the other winners.
With just one Blue Division matchup remaining, Platte County owns a 3-0 mark in league play and had a chance to finish off an undefeated title Tuesday, Sept. 13 in Belton, Mo. The Pirates swept that matchup 9-0 to make it official. The Blue Division tournament — new this year — will decide the all-conference performers on Wednesday, Sept. 21 with the location to be determined.
In the first three duals in Blue Division play, Platte County won 26 of 27 matches.
Cameron Tournament
Ivy and Hannah Valentine improved to 13-0 on the season, sweeping through the 16-entry doubles bracket Wednesday, Sept. 7 in Cameron, Mo.
Platte County won a doubles title at the tournament for the first time in history, and the Pirates also ended up with the consolation winner. Laderoute and sophomore Crystal Billings fought back from a first round loss to take fifth after winning the consolation bracket.
In the singles bracket, senior Rachel Valentine went 4-0 and took the championship, while fellow senior Laures went 3-1 and placed third after a semifinal loss. The Pirates ran away with the team title after finishing as runner-up to Warrensburg in 2015, placing all four entries in the top five for the first time in history at this tournament.
The win comes on the heels of a William Chrisman Invitational title the previous week, meaning the Pirates remained unbeaten in all competitions. Rachel Valentine, Hannah Valentine and Ivy have yet to lose a match in singles, and Valentine and Ivy haven’t lost any match this year with their unbeaten record in doubles, including a stint at No. 1 when Laures missed some time due to illness.